One of the coolest parts about studying abroad in Europe is how easy it is to travel during school breaks. Because of how my classes work in France, I only have to be in the country Monday through Wednesday. That means I have a four-day weekend every week, and it also means I get to travel and explore more of France on the long weekend. For the first couple weeks of my study abroad experience, I was chomping at the bit to travel and get out of Grenoble. The trips I took were so fun, not to mention educational (and sometimes awe-inspiring), but they were also EXHAUSTING. I kept it up for about a month before I realized traveling every weekend was NOT sustainable. Over the next month I slowed things waaaay down, traveling maybe one weekend out of every four, and even then favoring local trips over international ones. By the time my third month here came around, it was time for fall break. In France, the first week of November is a vacation week for most of the schools in the country, including Science Po. Together with my GW friends Baker and Sarah, as well as a couple mutual international friends we've made, we spent 9 days traveling in Eastern Europe: Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Prague. The trip was an amazing time, but by the end, I was again Exhausted. On the way back, I couldn't stop thinking about how excited I was to sleep at home in my own bed. Then it hit me, I was thinking of my apartment in Grenoble as "home". A couple of months before, everything had been new and strange and lonely, and now I was thinking of it as "home", just as my time is drawing to a close. I have just over a month left here now, and I can't believe the end has come so soon. For the few weeks, I'm planning on staying in Grenoble and soaking up everything I can of my home city before I have to fly back to the U.S. Traveling is one of the best parts of studying abroad in Europe. But it's also one of the easiest ways to cheat yourself of a full experience in your home destination. My biggest lesson from this semester and best advice to anyone else studying abroad are one and the same: Everything in Moderation (especially weekend travel!)
Madeline Lucy Pfeiffer
Fall 2023
GW Exchange - Sciences Po Grenoble
Elliott School of International Affairs
International Affairs Major